Let's start with the obvious. I wouldn't want to be Florida's skiing coach.

That sport is the next NCAA championship up for grabs. As best as can be determined, no school has ever concurrently held the football, basketball and snow-skiing titles.

Lesson II -- The Southeastern Conference champion should get an automatic bid to the BCS Championship Game.

All the old Big Ten notions came true. The Buckeyes had speed at the skill positions. Florida's assistant trainer could run a 4.5 40-yard dash.

Lesson III -- Tim Tebow should retire.

Sorry, but it can only go down from here. He's a folk hero and a national champion. Unless he wins another title, two Heismans and disarms Hezbollah, fans will say Tim Terrific never really lived up to his promise.

Lesson IV -- Jeremy Foley should have been allowed to hire all new members of Congress.

First Billy Donovan, now Meyer. Even the Zook Era now looks like it was just a means to an end.

Lesson V -- The No Respect ploy never goes out of style.

You knew the Gators would say they were motivated by the fact 92.6 percent of America didn't think they belonged. Only they really, really meant it.

"They were like sharks in the water," Meyer said.

Lesson VI -- Florida has some of the most magnanimous and forgiving fans in the nation.

I'd like to thank the reader who took the time to remind me that even though I made a completely baseless prediction that Ohio State would win, I'm still a good person.

As for the rest of you, I hereby admit I'm a complete idiot.

Lesson VII -- If you think I should be dunked in a vat of orange-and-blue paint, wait until you hear about this guy.

When the final AP poll came out, the Gators had 64 of 65 first-place votes. No, the dissenting vote was not for Mark McGwire.

It was cast by Greg Archuleta of the Albuquerque Journal, who was quite popular Tuesday morning. Cold Pizza had just bumped him for Chris Leak. Larry King would soon be on Line 1. Everybody wanted to know what was he thinking?

"I thought if Ohio State lost, Boise State was just as deserving in the absence of a playoff system," Archuleta said.

He made that statement long before the game, never thinking Ohio State would actually lose. As the Buckeyes turned into Bemidji State, he started having second thoughts. But Archuleta is a man of principle, so he stuck to his word and voted for the nation's only unbeaten team.

"I didn't think I'd be the only one," he said.

It was a more of a protest vote for a playoff, though Archuleta also thinks the Western Athletic Conference is underrated.

"Florida would beat Boise State 95 times out of 100," he said. "But in a playoff, anything can happen."

That kind of talk around Gainesville will get a man enrolled in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Before all you Gator fans turn into sharks in the water, please take note.

No, Archuleta did not go to FSU. He has two small children who depend on him. Neither is named Tressel. He certainly didn't sound like a rabble-rouser over the phone.

"No, no. I'm a sheep by nature," he said. "I usually follow the pack and try not to cause too much trouble."

Lesson No. VIII -- For some Gator fans, nothing goes with victory champagne like a nice serving of sheep.